The Animal Collective man released his fifth solo album, Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper, this week. Before he did, he sat down with Joe Clay to pick 13 formative favourite records

Black Sabbath - Master Of RealitySimilar [to Wu-Tang] in that, the album gives me a feeling that I don't think is really natural for me. It's something I long for but I don't really get it on a day-to-day basis. It's almost like a drug in that way. It's like, you feel so high. I wanna feel like this all the time but I can't because it's not who I am. It's like the rawness and the rockiness of it... I'm a subdued kind of a guy, so having that hyped up, ripping feeling is really attractive to me. There's a lot of Sabbath albums that I like. The riffing - the performances and the playing - are all so great. But what separates Master Of Reality is the really tender moments. There are a few tracks that have really beautiful sections to them, and that's what makes that one stick out for me.

I read that they downtuned their guitars to get that sound.

It was like a precursor to grunge - that sludgey sound. It gives everything a little more weight.

The album starts with Tony Iommi coughing because he's just been handed this really amazing spliff by Ozzy.

'Sweet Leaf' is a great opening to the album. It's a song that's an homage to weed. I have my own version of that. I did a song called 'Cosplay' that hasn't been released yet but was part of this group of songs. It's about how I appreciate the perspective that weed gives me. We're going to release it at some point.

If you love our features, news and reviews, please support what we do with a one-off or regular donation. Year-on-year, our corporate advertising is down by around 90% - a figure that threatens to sink The Quietus. Hit this link to find out more and keep on Black Sky Thinking.